Carchio: Fireworks gave Huntington Beach plenty to celebrate

Aug. 1, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 12:28 p.m.

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Volunteer Michele Amaral gets an item for a customer at a Safe and Sane fireworks stand in Huntington Beach. The location raises funds for the Huntington Beach High School baseball boosters. Amaral's son Daniel is a centerfielder on the team. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Volunteer Michele Amaral gets an item for a customer at a Safe and Sane fireworks stand in Huntington Beach. The location raises funds for the Huntington Beach High School baseball boosters. Amaral's son Daniel is a centerfielder on the team. EUGENE GARCIA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

The two-year experiment with "Safe and Sane" fireworks has just been completed, and the city of Huntington Beach can count the benefits with impressive numbers:

•20,000 local residents were able to buy state fire marshal-approved fireworks to safely celebrate the Fourth of July each year in the best of American traditions.

•Twenty local nonprofit groups raised more than $700,000 over the past two years that will be used to provide services to our community by selling "Safe and Sane" fireworks under our carefully regulated city program.

•Thousands enjoyed the Pier Plaza fireworks show this year, thanks to a generous $55,000 contribution from fireworks vendor TNT.

•Proceeds from fireworks sales provide $56,000 each year to our police and fire officials to support a safe holiday.

It adds up to a compelling case for keeping the "Safe and Sane" fireworks program in place – particularly when you compare our experience with that of other cities that have not taken advantage of state laws to allow local regulation of fireworks. In these cities, illegal fireworks – ones that explode in the air, scatter embers, injure people and start fires – flourish and the police have neither the manpower nor the budget to fight back.

Illegal fireworks are a fact of life. They cross our borders and into our state, and they are purchased by people who fail to understand the dangers and are not aware of the stringent laws against their possession and use.

Communities that have allowed the sale of "Safe and Sane" fireworks have discovered that the old truism about fighting fire with fire really works. When legal fireworks are introduced into communities, the presence and use of illegal pyrotechnic devices diminishes. When our citizens are given the option of celebrating in a legal manner or with illegal fireworks, "Safe and Sane" fireworks are their preference.

In Huntington Beach, the state fire marshal-approved fireworks have generated revenue for our Police Department, Fire Department, schools and charitable organizations, all while helping to keep our community safe from illegal fireworks.

The city of Huntington Beach will soon be assessing the success of its two-year program of "Safe and Sane" fireworks sales. I support making the program permanent.

We live in an era when bureaucrats want to remove our beach fire rings, tell us what kind of health insurance we must buy and regulate every aspect of our lives. We shouldn't let them stop us from celebrating the most American moment in our nation's history in a traditional way – with families and friends gathering to celebrate the independence of our great country.

As a City Council member, I encourage all of you to join me in telling my fellow council members that the sale of legal fireworks pays off for our citizens, our safety officials, and our local schools and nonprofits. It's a winning strategy that makes dollars and sense!

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